Responding to the paper's claim that it had uncovered a $2.7bn (€2.1bn) fortune, lawyers for Mr Wen's family said: "The 'hidden riches' of Wen Jiabao's family members in the 'New York Times' report do not exist."

It is the first time that one of the Communist party's leaders has issued a rebuttal to a foreign paper report, and is a sign of how damaging the revelations have been to Mr Wen (70).

The lawyers said some of Mr Wen's family were active in business, but they "did not carry out any illegal business activity".